France Pushes Forward Alone with New Tax on Big Tech Companies

France is to press ahead alone with a new tax on big technology companies after struggling to secure agreement for a EU-wide levy.

The French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire, said he believed the tax, which will take effect from 1 January, would raise â‚¬500m (Â£450m) in its first year.

France has been pushing for a EU GAFA tax â€“ named after Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon â€“ but faced opposition from countries including Ireland, which hosts the European headquarters of several technology companies, including Google and Apple.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of major world economies, has been working on proposals for an international scheme that would regulate taxation on technology companies.